Wii Party U' is no Mario Party (review)

I enjoy the Mario Party series, but when “Wii Party” released in 2010 I just couldn’t get into it.

I suppose I can say the same thing about “Wii Party U,” the recent release for Nintendo’s Wii U console that borrows elements from the many Mario Party games. It features more than 80 mini-games across several game modes, and is best played with groups of people. If you’re alone on a Saturday night this isn’t for you.

TV Party features a variety of games meant to be played in long sittings, but some overstay their welcome or lack the charm of a traditional Mario Party game board. “Highway Rollers” is basically a race to the finish that relies on winning mini-games to roll more dice during each round. Unfortunately, the dreaded “luck” factor plays a big role in determining who wins, with too many special spaces that cheapen the experience. Last Place Boosts are scattered everywhere, always keeping things close to the point it’s not fair. UFO spots will transport players back and forth, which becomes annoying.

The Balldozer plays like those arcade machines where you put tokens in to try and knock many others over the ledge to win tickets. Winning mini-games gives you more balls to drop down onto the machine onscreen, where you receive points for shoving them overboard. It’s a neat idea, but can drag on if someone decides to be extra careful with ball placement.

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My favorites in TV Party are GamePad Island, which lets you play mini-games on the controller to move around a jungle path, and Mii Fashion Plaza, a delightful costume-collection game that can deliver some funny results. There’s also Team Building where you build a sports team, which is OK.

House Party includes individual games for two to four players, and has more hits than misses. The best is Name that Face, where one person is shown a clue on the GamePad and snaps a photo while the others have to guess what his/her mugshot represents. It offers up goofy results, and I noticed a nice variety of clues to keep things interesting. Sketchy Situation reminds me of Miiverse Sketch from “Game & Wario.” Players draw their clues on the controller — with one unlike the others — and players have to guess whose is different. It’s fun to see what people come up with, especially from bad drawers like myself.

Other House Party games can become frustrating, though. Button Smashers involves teamwork to press buttons on multiple Wiimotes and the GamePad. The problem is if someone doesn’t know the controller well, it ends in a hurry. Water Runners is a unique idea where you set the GamePad on the ground to scoop up water with a Wiimote and pour it into a pitcher on the television screen. First off, don’t play this game in tight spaces — you’ll constantly bump into each other. Secondly, if the GamePad doesn’t pick up the Wiimote signal, someone’s going to be angry. Multiple times this happened in my group, and we quickly moved on.

“Wii Party U” shines the brightest with GamePad Party. With the aid of a horizontal stand that straightens out the controller on flat surfaces, two people pick a side to play competitive and cooperative games. Tabletop Baseball and Foosball are the most fun I’ve ever had when it comes to the Wii U’s GamePad features. In Foosball, each player uses the analog stick to kick the soccer ball in the goal, and it’s surprisingly addictive. In Baseball, one player pulls back on the analog stick to pitch the ball at different speeds while the other player attempts to hit singles, doubles, triples and home runs with the bat. It’s a blast to play.

Other fun games include Mii-in-a-Row, where players have to assemble a Mii head, torso and legs in a straight line on a board to get points. Tabletop Gauntlet involves flipping switches and turning cranks to move a ball through an obstacle course. While fun, it could have used more levels.

With so many mini-games available, not all of them are going to be winners. Most of them involve waggling the Wiimote and pressing buttons and will feel familiar to those who’ve heavily played Mario Party games. Few are luck-based, which is a good thing, but there aren’t that many worth playing over and over again. This is where I feel the game boards play a big role in the overall fun factor, and “Wii Party U” can’t hold a candle to Mario Party when it comes to this.

2 stars out of 4

A copy of “Wii Party U” was supplied by the publisher for this review.